Virat Kohli brings the fire Aussie style in a fiery Travis Head exchange

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan said Virat Kohli channeled his inner Australian during his on-field banter with Travis Head in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL 2026 clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday. Kohli was involved in an animated exchange with Head during the match.

The incident occurred during Shivang Kumar’s first over when Venkatesh Iyer aggressively attacked the bowler and scored loosely down the ground. In the middle of the attack, Kohli was seen gesturing towards Head, who was staying in the mid-wicket region, seemingly asking him to come and bowl.

Pathan defended Kohli and said such moments are common in high-pressure games where teams fight for crucial points and emotions naturally run high.

“Virat Kohli has always enjoyed playing cricket with that aggressive intensity of the Australian style, a bit of banter, competitiveness and emotion on the field. That’s when he asked Travis Head to step in and bowl a few deliveries instead of staying off the field as an impact substitute,” Pathan said while speaking on JioHotstar’s Google Search AI Mode Match Center Live’.

“These kinds of exchanges are quite natural in high-pressure games, especially when both teams are vying for key positions in the points table. In the end, it was simply part of the intensity and competitive spirit that comes with top-level cricket,” added Pathan.

Check out Travis Head. when Virat Kohli says so many things to him, he still reacts very calmly and normally. We’ve seen many times that Travis Head believes in answering with the bat, not the mouth. pic.twitter.com/6OA92WZ5YF— (@rushiii_12) May 22, 2026

KOHLI REFUSES TO SHAKE HANDS WITH HEAD

Kohli was heavily involved in the on-field banter with Travis Head during the game, repeatedly urging the Australian opener to step up and play the ball from the non-striker’s end. At one stage, the RCB batsman was even seen gesturing his head away. The SRH star finally bowled the 18th over and struck immediately, dismissing RCB skipper Rajat Patidar with his second delivery.

This exchange wasn’t the only heated moment between the two during the match. In another instance, Head crossed paths with Kohli while changing fielding positions, with the former Indian captain again appearing to say something to the Australian batsman.

The drama continued after the match, with what appeared to be a viral clip Kohli skipped the usual handshake with his head. While Kohli greeted Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan warmly after the match, his apparent disdain for the Australian left-hander quickly became the talk of the town.

On Friday, Sunrisers Hyderabad beat RCB by 55 runs, but the win was not enough for them to finish in the top two. Despite the defeat, RCB managed to seal their place in Qualifier 1 where they will face Gujarat Titans.

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Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

May 23, 2026 1:59 PM IST

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